Nakama
by DeathlyFlames
Summary: Nakama. That's what Natsu and Lucy were. And to him, nakama are family. And under no circumstances can family ever abandon you. He would be sure it would never happen again. NatsuxLucy Oneshot


A/N: Hey! DeathlyFlames here! So here is another plotbunny for the newest and oh-so-wondeful manga, Fairy Tail! I love Natsu and Lucy and I just had to write this. And for some reason my body made me stay up until midnight to finish. Oh well. Sorry if anyone is OOC. I tried. I don't portray the 'simple-minded idiot' well. Especially since Natsu is like an AU Luffy with pink hair and Luffy does have the angsty tendencies... Anyway, this is based off of chapter 68 when Lucy went home. If you want to see their expressions at the beginning, go read the end of that chapter. Sooooooo, without further ado, happy reading!

DISLCAIMER: No. I don't own. Nor do I own

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Nakama. That's what Natsu and Lucy were. He considered all of Fairy Tail his Nakama, completely irreplaceable and unmovable. To him, when you joined, you became family. You fight together, laugh together, cry together. And according to Natsu, family should never strand you without warning. Never. Natsu wiped his eyes even though he wasn't crying, just to be sure he wasn't. He had to be strong. He had to bring her back.

Igneel had left him once. He had woken up to find the dragon missing. Just gone. And he never came back. Natsu could remember that day, when his father left. That afternoon in the forest with Igneel nowhere to be found. He cried that day, Natsu remembered. But the tears never brought his dragon back. And all the tears in the world never would. That's how he knew that now, as he ran with Erza, Happy, and Gray, he couldn't cry. He had to be strong and believe they could convince Lucy to come back to Fairy Tail.

To come back to him.

Natsu ran harder until he could barely breathe. But didn't matter to him. He had to rescue his Nakama, and he would run until his legs fell off to do that if he had to.

Natsu could see the huge house up ahead and he assumed that was the Heartphilia residence. People scurried about here and there doing various chores and mingling occasionally. Natsu stomped up to an old, stout maid who was carrying a basket of laundry.

"Where...'s....Lucy?" he panted. The woman scrutinized him for a moment before smiling and pointing towards a path that led to behind the house. Natsu started down it, Erza and Gray following closely behind. Soon Natsu saw a large pond that rippled slightly in the breeze. It was clear and cool and relaxing. But that was not what caught Natsu's one-track mind. What he saw first was the back of a blonde head held up on one side in a way that Lucy was fond of doing. Natsu yelled her name and Lucy turned and gaped in shock. As her friends galloped up to her, Lucy could only stare in amazement that they had traveled so far, just for her. The following silence was only broken by a sobbing Happy as he flew straight into Lucy's chest and nuzzled into her, his tears staining her nice, expensive shirt. Natsu spoke first.

"Lucy!" he said, "You can't just leave the guild! What were you thinking?"

Lucy held Happy to her chest as she explained.

"Hey, guys. It's nothing like that! I just came because I had something to take care of here."

Natsu and Gray gaped.

"You mean you weren't leaving?" Gray blinked at Lucy.

"Er...no. Sorry for not telling you guys..."

Natsu recovered quickly and stamped his feet, fire practically spewing from his ears.

"YOU MEAN I GOT ALL WORRIED YOU WERE GOING TO LEAVE US THAT I ENDURED A TRAIN AND RUNNING SIX MILES JUST TO HEAR YOU WERE COMING BACK!? WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING BEFORE YOU LEFT!?"

Lucy giggled nervously at Natsu's outburst and hugged Happy closer.

"Ahh! Lucy! I was so worried you were leaving us! We were all so worried! Natsu couldn't even eat anything ever since you left! I swear! And even my fish didn't taste as good without you around!"

Then Natsu waited for her reaction to everything that taken place. He expected maybe something dramatic as was common for Lucy. He didn't really expect her to laugh. And what he really didn't expect was for the rest of them to laugh with her. Natsu wasn't even really sure why he was laughing. Relief maybe? Definitely happiness. They all just kept laughing until their stomachs started to burn, and even then it took a while for them to stop and start back to the train station. Natsu barely even paid attention to their idle conversation after that. He contributed occasionally and smiled with the rest of them, but inside his heart was burning. He had almost lost another precious person. He felt the relief in waves as he remembered that Lucy said she didn't want to go back to her former home. That she never did. She had said she wanted to stay with Fairy Tail forever. It was such a relief to hear. So wonderful that Natsu just wanted to pick Lucy up and squeeze her until she was out of breath. But then, why did he still hurt? She said she wanted to stay didn't she? Natsu laughed a little on the inside as he thought about it.

Maybe it was because she didn't say she wanted to stay with him.

**

Lucy stood in her shower, her hands swirling lazily through the shampoo in her hair. She hummed quietly to herself and closed her eyes. She sighed and tipped her head back, letting the water rinse out her hair before turning off the tap and wrapping a towel around herself. She stepped out of her shower and looked at herself in her mirror. She couldn't believe that her father still hadn't changed. Lucy blinked at herself for a moment before walking into the central area of her home. She screamed as a hand pressed gently on her shoulder from behind, only to be turned around to find Natsu standing there. Lucy exhaled and relaxed.

"Jeez, Natsu! Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" Not like it did much good anyway. Natsu and Gray and Erza had the most bizarre habit of randomly showing up in her house. Usually when she had just gotten out of the shower. But Natsu didn't look right tonight. His expression was downcast and his grip on her shoulder tightened slightly.

"Natsu...?"

He looked up at her and Lucy's heart tore a little.

He was crying. He looked so much like a little kid it was hard for her to handle. Natsu wasn't like this. Was it because of her? Natsu's hand loosened and he pulled her against him, her face nuzzled into his soft white scarf. His hands pressed against her back and she could feel his unusual warmth. It was comforting. Lucy could hear him mumbling into her hair and she listened closely. It didn't make much sense to her, but he was repeating just one phrase. _Never again. _

Lucy felt her eyes tearing up and she pressed herself closer to Natsu.

"Never again, Natsu. I promise. I won't ever leave you again." Her tears were soaking into his scarf now as she whispered into his neck so he could hear her. It was the most truthful thing she had ever said in her life. She wouldn't go back to her father ever again. Honestly one of the reasons she traveled back to the Heartphilia household was so she could see if her father had changed. It was her one selfish dream. Her father's acceptance. But she knew that no matter what he would never love her as a person. He could never be the strong shoulder she needed when times were tough, or the friendly one she needed during the good times. Just like...

Lucy leaned back and smiled up at Natsu and, in turn, he also smiled his mischievous smile back at her before placing his hand on her cheek. He stroked her gently before he cupped her chin in his fingers.

"I know you won't leave again, Lucy. I won't ever let you leave your home again." Natsu very carefully brought her face closer to his until he captured her lips softly with his.

Nakama. That's what Natsu and Lucy once were. He considered all of Fairy Tail his Nakama, completely irreplaceable and unmovable. To him, when you joined, you became family. You fight together, laugh together, cry together. But not him and Lucy. They were not nakama. They were something much more. They fought together, cried together, laughed together, yes. But the one difference was that Natsu and Lucy loved together. He would always be her rock and she would be his friendship. And no matter what, they were always family. Just maybe not brother and sister. And under no circumstances does family ever just strand you without warning.


End file.
